About

I was a psychology major at Pitzer College in Claremont California when I was introduced to pottery. Late one night after a party my friend invited me to the pottery studio. It was in a basement in a poorly traveled area of the campus, I didn’t know it existed. She gave me a lump of clay and instructed me to sit at a wheel. I was wearing a beautiful dress that she had lent me and I protested. She said, nonsense, it will wash out, and off we went. I fell in love and began taking pottery classes when I had open credits.

I continued to dabble in pottery for the next 25 years, taking a class here and there and acquiring various equipment as I went along, but never having enough time to devote to it to become proficient. When I moved to Ojai in 2010, I enrolled in a pottery class at the local school. A few years later, when the owner put his business up for sale, a group of us bought the equipment and started Ojai Pottery and Clay School. We soon had over 40 students and 7 different classes each week in pottery and hand-building techniques. As a founder and the school administrator, I had the opportunity to learn the essential tasks of managing a large studio, like loading and firing our huge Geil gas down draft kiln, mixing glazes, and maintaining equipment. I gained expertise in a variety of high fire clay bodies and techniques. On April 2nd, 2016 I was fortunate to acquire my own gas down draft kiln and Awhai Pottery was born.

I now make and sell my custom handmade pottery from my home studio in Upper Ojai, an extension of the Ojai Valley, in Ventura County, California. I use a variety of high fire clay bodies including porcelain and stoneware, and mix my own custom glazes. Most of my pots are fired using a high-fire reduction technique, which means there is a period of time during the firing when the kiln environment is robbed of oxygen, creating unique glaze effects. As a result, both my artistic pieces and my completely functional tableware are unique with a form and finish you will find nowhere else.

Nothing gives me greater joy than sharing my work with you. When somebody appreciates a piece of my pottery enough to buy it and take it home or give it as a gift, I feel that they are taking some of the love and energy that I put into that piece with them. So, thank you for visiting my site.